I was entirely convinced that Jakob Dobes would be a game changer for us, so I’m hesitant to get excited about a goalie prospect but this guy is hard to ignore.
One_Instruction4261
First legitimate habs goalie prospect since Price/Halak everyone else has been a hype job. You know it’s bad when Fucale is 2 lol still a magic beans longshot with size concerns. If Askarov is really available I’d offer as high as Primeau two 2nds and Barron level prospect if they’d take it we’re at a stage legit competition would be great let them fight and keep the best in 5 years.
3oysters
Fowler’s just got that Aura. Which I think is compelling since goalies are pretty much pseudoscience anyway.
SaltyATC69
Why are some fans so intent on that Askara(sp?) from Nashville when we have Fowler in the system? Would be dumb to give assets to get that other guy. We ain’t trying to win the cup in the next couple years.
kozed
That’s a bit high for Fowler for my taste.
I’m glad the article pointed out his lower-half issues. It’s a very striking weakness in his game, to the point where it becomes a handicap. Often his legs just can’t follow his upper-body. He’ll try to throw an arm in the way of a shot and his bottom half stays stuck in place or lags behind, so he contorts in unnatural positions. It’ll be an injury concern at some point. He’s gonna have a lot of work to do on and off the ice to fix that and gain better movement fluidity. But the article missed something about his tracking, though: when the puck is below the goal line. That causes issues for Fowler, which get more apparent when the puck moves back up. Again, lack of lateral flexibility might be the issue there. Fowler is overall a stiff goalie. Stiffer even than Primeau was at the same age.
The competitiveness and battling spirit are great, but the physical & technical foundation on which they rest needs to support them. At this point, that foundation still requires a lot of work. Goalies are not voodoo. They have their own challenges and development timeline, but they go through the same hurdles as skaters. They are tested the same when they face faster, stronger opposition.
So, all things considered, I’d place Dobes higher than 24 and Fowler lower than 11. What Dobes did last year in the last 3–4 months of the AHL season was an eye-opener. There was real progress against higher adversity there. He battled game-in and game-out with barely a defence worthy of that name in front of him. Yes, his low, wide crouching style is unorthodox, yes you’d want him to be ideally more compact, square and economical; but he’s making his octopus style work for him. That should warrant a better rank.
Because the pedigree is nice and all, but *how* a goalie actually plays and progresses regardless of his pedigree matters a lot more.
5 Comments
I was entirely convinced that Jakob Dobes would be a game changer for us, so I’m hesitant to get excited about a goalie prospect but this guy is hard to ignore.
First legitimate habs goalie prospect since Price/Halak everyone else has been a hype job. You know it’s bad when Fucale is 2 lol still a magic beans longshot with size concerns. If Askarov is really available I’d offer as high as Primeau two 2nds and Barron level prospect if they’d take it we’re at a stage legit competition would be great let them fight and keep the best in 5 years.
Fowler’s just got that Aura. Which I think is compelling since goalies are pretty much pseudoscience anyway.
Why are some fans so intent on that Askara(sp?) from Nashville when we have Fowler in the system? Would be dumb to give assets to get that other guy. We ain’t trying to win the cup in the next couple years.
That’s a bit high for Fowler for my taste.
I’m glad the article pointed out his lower-half issues. It’s a very striking weakness in his game, to the point where it becomes a handicap. Often his legs just can’t follow his upper-body. He’ll try to throw an arm in the way of a shot and his bottom half stays stuck in place or lags behind, so he contorts in unnatural positions. It’ll be an injury concern at some point. He’s gonna have a lot of work to do on and off the ice to fix that and gain better movement fluidity. But the article missed something about his tracking, though: when the puck is below the goal line. That causes issues for Fowler, which get more apparent when the puck moves back up. Again, lack of lateral flexibility might be the issue there. Fowler is overall a stiff goalie. Stiffer even than Primeau was at the same age.
The competitiveness and battling spirit are great, but the physical & technical foundation on which they rest needs to support them. At this point, that foundation still requires a lot of work. Goalies are not voodoo. They have their own challenges and development timeline, but they go through the same hurdles as skaters. They are tested the same when they face faster, stronger opposition.
So, all things considered, I’d place Dobes higher than 24 and Fowler lower than 11. What Dobes did last year in the last 3–4 months of the AHL season was an eye-opener. There was real progress against higher adversity there. He battled game-in and game-out with barely a defence worthy of that name in front of him. Yes, his low, wide crouching style is unorthodox, yes you’d want him to be ideally more compact, square and economical; but he’s making his octopus style work for him. That should warrant a better rank.
Because the pedigree is nice and all, but *how* a goalie actually plays and progresses regardless of his pedigree matters a lot more.